Darling in the Franxx: Rebirth
by jbenson.is.awesome
Summary: With Virm's final breath, Zero Two and Hiro were tossed back in time, away from their happy ending. The Two soon find themselves back in Strelitzia, facing a familiar Moho-Class Klaxosaur. Rated T for nudity and sexual themes. Off Hiatus!
1. Chapter 1! - Back to the Past!

Zero Two and Hiro stood together, floating in a void of nothingness, heads pressed together. Blue and Red horns stuck intertwined.

"You are me..." Said Hiro, staring into his lover's eyes.

"... and you are me." Finished Zero Two.

"We'll probably vanish soon, to where I have no idea." Says Hiro. 'But the path we've walked won't ever fade, because others will take it even further."

Zero Two was accepting her fate, "It doesn't matter how long it takes." The void was beginning to brighten and it was harder and harder to see now. "If we have souls, I swear I'll meet you again on Earth."

The void was beginning to vanish from their eyes and soon they felt even their bodies disappear. Their very souls were all that was left. Their spirits spun through the cosmos, but something was wrong. The stars were dyed purple and the two spirits were in shock, they had won. They had earned this victory, why was the world fading?

Virm's voice echoed through the cosmos, and with the very ounce of strength they had left, they would not accept defeat. "You would willingly leave us to return to you pain and suffering?! We will not let you! We are the apex of evolution!" Screamed Virm, sacrificing every mind in their collective, every soul and spirit burned in the fury of Virm and they did something... The world spun, and Zero Two felt themselves being pulled apart.

"Darling!" Screamed Zero Two, hands stretched as far as they could, grasping for hiro's hand.

"Zero Two!" Cried Hiro, trying to grasp for his beloved's hands.

The world was spinning in their eyes now, and their spirits collapsed into mere balls of light, sucked back to Earth. Orange flashed past them and various voices could be heard, one's of the past.

The two balls of light fell back to Earth, back into their... bodies?


	2. Chapter 2! - Re-ignition!

The spiritual orbs of Zero Two and Hiro drift down into their bodies which were presently by the lakeside, in the birdcage for the parasites. Hiro's eyes drifted out to the silhouette of a girl swimming in the lake. Her body fully nude as she swam. He remembered being disturbed by this in the past but now, he knew that it was his beloved that was out there and all of his worries and misgivings were gone. He looked over to the fallen tree where Zero Two's uniform sat.

It had felt like years since he had been here but now he was back. Had Virm done this? Why? He felt a resolve burn back in his heart. He would never be separated from his beloved again.

He stared out at the lake, watching Zero Two swim. Thick fog obscured his view, and the sunlight from outside the plantation shone down on the lake, causing the lake to shimmer and dance in the rays from the sun. Hiro felt his eyes staring, for the second time.

He gazed out at the lake, only to see his beloved vanish beneath the shining water. In his past life he had thought she had drowned. He knew better this time around. All of a sudden fish began flying up out of the water, as if to escape something. The fish were panicked and seemed to be trying to fly into the sky to escape. He waded out into the water to see the spectacle of the fish flying high into the air.

A sudden rush of water could be hear and large ripples were made in the water as a large object suddenly bolted towards him. Hiro remembered this and was ready for it. Red horns poked out of the water ominously before the water in front of him seemingly exploded upwards. The nude body of Zero Two flew upwards within inches of Hiro. Hiro in his previous life had screamed in shock, but this Hiro knew what was happening, he only took a sharp breath in as his eyes probed the naked body of Zero Two. Her light pink hair framing her beautiful body. Fish in her mouth and red horns glowing alluringly, Hiro suddenly remembered. This was when he became addicted to Zero Two. He was still addicted.

A thought lingered in the back of Hiro's mind. Did she remember their previous run at life? Did she get her soul sent back as well. His heart raced. He was worried now, this might not be as easy as he would have liked.

Zero Two landed back down and stood inches away from Hiro. The fish in her mouth still thrashing violently in a death struggle. Zero Two spit out the fish and moved to make her way past Hiro. Hiro quickly grabbed her hand and stopped her from brushing past him. This was the moment, this was the moment where he found out if she remembered him.

"Does the word darling mean anything to you?" Zero Two's face turned around in surprise before she suddenly seemed to have an epiphany. She tackled him into the water, his parasite uniform getting wet. "Darling!" She cried, her eyes tearing up. She licked his cheeks many times, and seemed to be in bliss at his taste. He had to be sure though and his heart raced. "Does the word Virm mean anything to you?" Asked Hiro.

Zero Two Cried even further "It's me Darling! It's me Zero Two!" The two lay in the water, Zero Two straddling him. "I love you Hiro! You are my Darling!" She screamed, relieved at the reunion between the two lovers.

Hiro smiled at this unusual amount of affection out of Zero Two. "Zero Two! I thought I might have lost you!" The two stood up out of the water, hearts racing as they stood together. Zero Two quickly got changed into the parasite uniform that lay on that branch. She turned to face Hiro after getting changed, who out of decency averted his eyes.

"Darling, do you think the others will remember us?" Asked Zero Two. She was thinking now, finger pressed against her cheek in thought.

Hiro smiled sadly, "Probably not, but they at least got a good ending to their lives back then, unlike us." He then grinned. "But at least I get to be with you!"

Sounds could be heard from the woods as the soldiers zeroed in on their location. Zero quickly clicked her headpiece into place around her horns and it turned on with a robotic chirp. She quickly got real close to Hiro and whispered into his ear "Play stupid, act like you don't know me." She then turned around to face the woods as bushes could be heard rustling. APE special forces units and plantation guards soon came into the clearing. Her temporary stamen entered the clearing, flanked by the soldiers.

"We've been looking for you." Said her temporary stamen, stepping into the sunlight. Hiro now got a real good look at the man and realized that the man looked in the worst condition possible. His arm was in a sling, his head was in a neck brace, he had a mask on his face to assist his breathing, an eyepatch and a bandage were wrapped around his head. "Why do you keep running off alone." Questioned her temporary stamen, towering over her, it was a wonder that she managed to do so much damage to the man.

"It's not like there's anything else to do until tomorrow's welcoming ceremony." Retorted Zero Two, remembering her boredom. However, she now had her darling, she could never be bored.

The man slapped her white hat onto her head, covering her horns. "Well, as your partner, I'm the one who suffers the consequences," he said. Hiro stood up from his spot by the lake side, brushing dirt off of himself. The man turned to Hiro, looking at Hiro's uniform he said "Are you a parasite cadet? Your welcoming ceremonies tomorrow, right?" He then continued as Hiro watched a large trench coat be put on Zero Two. "Sorry if she did anything to bother you."

Hiro turned back to the man, "Where's she going?" He asked, trying to figure out how to rescue Zero Two from APE.

The man gave a look to Hiro, "Let me give you some advice cadet, stay far away from this whole matter, she's not the kid of pistil that just anyone can handle."

Hiro wanted to scream, he had died with Zero Two but now he couldn't be with her. He would have to wait, he wasn't just anyone, he was the one to handle Zero Two.

Hiro was dragged off by the standard guards and was told that Mistilteinn issued a search request for him after he disappeared. Something was bothering Hiro though and he felt a throbbing pain, it was as if his body was trying to change. He felt his very bones seem to move. He suddenly gasped and touched the top of his head, two small nubs were protruding from his head, and he suddenly remembered the two blue horns he had gained before he had died. His muscles grew and his bones hardened, all in an excruciating couple of seconds as he was dragged by the guards.

Hiro now stood in front of Hachi, who was finishing up his final words with Hiro, "Code 016, HQ has given you special permission to remain here." Hiro was thankful in that he could at least stick around to see Zero Two.

"Tell HQ I am thankful for their decision." Said Hiro as he left Hachi's room.

As Hiro left the room he saw a girl sitting on one of the benches outside of one of the rooms. Hiro immediately remembered the fate of Naomi, he knew she would survive but he still feared for her at the hands of the Klaxosaur that would attack later that day.

Hiro and Naomi were outside now, she was holding a small suitcase in her hands. The parasites were given few possessions so they could fit everything they owned into a small case. Hiro said nothing and only stared glassy eyed out to the fields where he knew the klaxosaur would emerge, he needed to find Zero Two.

Zero Two stood atop the hinged door that extended downwards off of the pilot's capsule of the Franxx. "I smell Klaxosaur." She said, giving the air a few experimental sniffs.

All of the cadets were now suiting up and were beginning the sequence to start up their Franxx. A heavy fog rolled in, and the Doctor made a comment on the nature of the fog. The fog blocked the view of the spectators and outlooks, who knew what lurked beyond the fog.

Hiro gazed out before he saw the two large blue spikes sticking up out of the ground. They lifted up and began destroying transports that lay in its way. The large klaxosaur emerged, heading straight for the plantation.

The look out that stood next to Hiro immediately began screaming orders, "It's a Klacosaur! Ready intercepting fire!"

Hiro knew what would happen next, he needed to figure out where Strelitzia would land. He needed to find Zero Two. Hiro felt his head, his head hurting with a splitting headache. Small blue nubs had now grown larger, almost visible blue horns were in his hair now, they were growing to the point where if one looked close enough they could slowly watch them grow.

All along the grayed walls of the plantation, canons extended and began firing on the Klaxosaur, barely slowing it down. Deafening bangs could be heard from the canons as they fired, nearly startling Hiro, _nearly._

The Klaxosaur stumbled it's way through the canon fire and made it to the garages of the Plantation. With a booming cry, it rammed it's head into the garage that held Delphinium, workers scrambled inside the garage, running for their lives.

"Garage 02 damaged. Unfit for housing delphinium." Chirped an automated robotic voice.

The Klaxosaur with it's head nor firmly pressed into the garage door began to charge up it's canon in its mouth, the blue light shone blindingly, Ichigo and Goro, who were both in Delphinium recoiled, thinking it was the end, Ichigo's eyes began to well with tears. She didn't want to die. However, before the beast could fire it's canon, something slammed into it, knocking it away from the garage.

It flew through the air, and everyone could get a good look at what had just slammed into the enraged beast. The new combatant was a Franxx; Strelitzia, however it was not in it's iron maiden form, but rather stampede form. It was on all fours, and took the form of a metallic lion. It's tail was equipped with an orange lance. Hiro's mind cheered, he needed to figure out how he was going to get into Strelitzia, but then he remembered, Strelitzia is thrown into a wall, he would get to them then.

Strelitzia was atop the creature, biting at the back of the monster and rending flesh, trying to kill the beast in some sort of primal ferocity. The beast thrashed, but the metallic lion held on for dear life and keep tearing and biting at the back of the beast it rode on.

Onlookers watched in horror and disgust at what they were witnessing. However, Nana who was watching alongside with Dr. Franxx was worried. "A Stampede, now?" Not even APE could stop themselves from commenting at the sight of what they were witnessing.

"What an ugly sight." Said Papa in disgust, "Did she devour her stamen again?" The APE councilmen behind Papa was in agreement, "It's hard to tell which is the real monster here."

Strelitzia finally ripped a chunk of Klaxosaur off so large that it began to charge it's canon and try to fire blindly at the plantation. It's usually pointed tail extended out, forming three concentric circles that hovered behind it, which began rotating, charging up it's canon's beam. With the sudden transformation, it threw Strelitzia off. Strelitzia bounced hard off the ground and landed on its feet, tail up like a scorpion, lance at the ready to stab at the monster.

Hiro ran along a walkway outside the plantation, watching the fight in anticipation. He was addicted to piloting with Zero Two. No, he was addicted **to** Zero Two.

The Klaxosaur finally finished charging up it's raw energy, and fired it's blue canon towards the plantation. Strelitzia moved in front of it and used it's now aglow magma lance to block the beam and deflect it in different directions, rather than towards the plantation. The beam may not have hit the plantation though but, Strelitzia was thrown, it's body slamming into the wall of the plantation, and landed near Hiro.

"Zero Two!" Cried Hiro, trying to get to the cockpit of the hulking behemoth that was Strelitzia. The body of Zero Two's now ex-stamen fell to the ground, his body bloodied and a wet gurgle escaped his lips. Hiro then looked up at Zero Two who was standing in the door to the cockpit. "Let's go already Darling!" Hiro looked excited to pilot with Zero Two once more. He lept into the cockpit without a second's hesitation.

Zero Two noticed something as he flew by, "Darling, your horns! How will you explain that." She knew that after this fight, it would be a struggle to try and lie to Nana, Hachi, and the other adults.

"Don't worry Zero Two, I've got a plan." Said Hiro, flashing a grin at her that made her heart race. He lept into the stamen seat, and Zero Two got into the Pistil position. The hand guards extended up from her suit and Hiro grabbed them immediately. Just as Zero Two's hood slid into place, the numbers on the screen immediately jumped up, both of them went up to about 110 on the scale.

"Zero Two, It feels like it's been ages since I've piloted with you!" Cried Hiro, he felt himself sliding into Zero Two's mind.

"In these bodies we've never ridden together!" Yelled Zero Two. "Let's go monster hunting ~ Darling!" She cried.

The Klaxosaur suddenly recovered from it's cannon barrage and began charging towards the fallen Strelitzia, only to get picked up by the now transforming mech and thrown. Strelitzia went from a rampaging lion to the true Iron Maiden herself. Jets fell down into some sort of skirt, paws morphed into hands, and the jaw of the lion suddenly snapped shut, forming the eyes of the Iron Maiden. Gold Braids extended from the back of strelizia's head, signifying the end of the transformation.

The Klaxosaur landed roughly, and kicked up a small cloud of dust. Dr. Franxx in his robotic toned voice began speaking, much to the shock of everyone around him. "When the negative and positive-Male and Female factors combine, and their hearts become one, the Iron Maiden will reveal her true form." A blue spike then extended from the head of Strelitzia and fell into place at the center of the head like a horn. Eyes formed on the face plate as the final piece locked into place. "Now this is a Franxx! You're the best, Strelitzia!" Cried the Doctor in his proudest voice. "But who's piloting it?" Questioned Nana.

The Klaxosaur began charging up again, but strelitzia moved, and the magma lance fell from her back into her hands. Magma energy began to flow and churn through a pipe to the glistening spear. Strelitzia then threw the spear into the awaiting mouth of the Klaxosaur, straight down it's throat and destroying it's canon. Strelitzia then launched herself after her spear, using her thrusters to amplify her speed. She grabbed the handle of the spear and the added wait of her body drove the spear even further into the Klaxosaur. "Game Over." The mech said, as she fired her spear, a single magma shell flew into the sky, and by the time it landed, the Klaxosaur had exploded in a blue mist, raining Klax guts onto onlookers who were outside. A blue sphere that glowed yellow inside slowly slid off of the spear, the last remnants of the Klaxosaur.

"That's a Franxx, the kind of robot we'll pilot." Said Kokoro as the Parasite watched Strelitzia in fascination as the mech-now covered in guts, stood there in front of the plantation.

The Mech hulked over parasites as they looked up at the two pilots coming out of the Mech. To try and prevent suspicion, Hiro put on a fake limp, as if that battle had strained him somehow, he didn't need them not to think he was special just yet. He leaned against Zero Two as they exited the Franxx. "I love you…" He whispered into her ear making her heart skip a beat., as they waved to the parasites below.

"Hiro?!" Cried Ichigo in shock, surprised to find out that it was her friend that was in there. "What's he doing in there?" Questioned Zorome. "There's someone else there too!" Said Goro, pointing to Zero Two. "Are those horns?" Question Miku, both in relation to Zero Two and Hiro's new feature. "The partner killer…" Whispered Ichigo. "Interesting…" Murmured the Doctor, staring at the new features adorning Hiro's head.

Nana Stepped forward. "Let me introduce you, This is code number 002, a special forces pistil, under the direct jurisdiction of APE." She also added as she looked up to see Zero Two licking some blood off her hands, she is a girl that has Klaxosaur blood."

Zero Two turned to face her Darling, who had done the same, with that Hiro then leaned his head forwards and so did Zero Two, their horns touched and they felt their hearts light aflame with love.


	3. Chapter 3! - Old Conflicts!

The day after the Klaxosaur attack, the startup sequence continued on ahead without further distractions, only in a much quieter fashion. None of the other adults were around to witness it this time. They at once brought Hiro to Dr. Franxx, his new facial features and ice-blue eyes were a sight to behold for the doctor. They led Hiro into an office where the Doctor hooked up many wires and tubes to Hiro, extracting lots of his blood for later testing and experimentation. "Code 016, do you understand what you are now?" Queried the doctor. Hiro was now lying on a medical bed, researchers typing away, faces protected by specialized masks as they gathered data on him.

"I do not Doctor, I only know that I survived being Zero Two's partner." Hiro replied, watching anxiously as monitors flashed and indicated that there was something wrong with his vital signs. He tried to move but realized that he was tightly bound to the table at the wrists and ankles and that if he struggled he might wind up hurting himself.

The orange glow of the monitors flashed across the Doctor's face as he studied Hiro. He used a small nail filer and scraped off some flecks of his horns and put it into a small Petri dish.

"Interesting..." Grumbled the doctor, studying the disk under his microscope. "Your blood is now nearly of the same composition as Zero Two's..." The doctor turned to face Hiro, looking pleased with himself, "Code 016 you are permitted to return to the other parasites and Zero Two, but you must return here every day for study and physical testing." Hiro nodded his head in affirmation before leaving the medical bay.

Hiro went into the boarding house that they stationed the parasites in, wondering where everyone else was. Hiro suddenly remembered that today was their start up ceremony, he needed to find Zero Two, and tell her everything that's happened to him. He traveled back to the lake and gazed out at it; the beautiful clear water and its shimmering ripples that rolled across the lake. He stood there for several minutes before returning to the parasite house.

"Meow Meow! You're such a cute little kitty aren't you! Yes you are!" Said Ichigo as she played with a small black kitten on the porch of the house. The kitten, immediately sensing something was wrong scampered off with a hiss of fear, startling Ichigo.

"Ichigo?" Hiro lightly called, trying to get her attention.

"Oh-Hiro!" Ichigo said in slight shock as she stood up as fast as she could from her place on the porch. She seemed to ignore the new features or at least didn't see them that were on Hiro's face.

"Please say you weren't waiting for me after this morning." Hiro said, knowing that Ichigo had feelings for him.

"Yeah, I was! You shouldn't run off first thing in the morning! I know it's probably awkward for you, but this house is you home now, so try to settle in." Scolded Ichigo. Her expression then softened, and she approached Hiro, "Did you hear that Naomi was alright? They took her to a hospital."

"Yeah, I hear." Hiro said, trying to push past Ichigo. He still needed to find Zero Two, he couldn't just wait to see her again. They had so much to discuss, and Hiro wouldn't mind getting to spend a little more time with her.

As Hiro made it past Ichigo, she suddenly started talking again "It was you piloting that Franxx wasn't it." Her voice was quieter now, as if this was some sort of problem.

Hiro and the others now sat down at the table to begin breakfast, and like usual, Zero Two managed to steal the show. Miku looked in disgust with a sickened expression as she watched Zero Two dump lots of honey onto her food.

"What is she still doing here?" Questioned Miku as everyone winessed the sight of Zero Two shoving a whole slab of meat down her throat.

"What a strange person." Kokoro said as she stared in interest. "She must like sweet things." Kokoro said with a small smile.

Miku leaned across the table, past all of the assorted fruits and vegetables. "Just in case you forgot no person has horns!" She said with a gesture to the top of her head.

"Enough..." Grumbled Ichigo, catching Miuk off guard. Miku gave her a sour expression. "She's the plantation's saviour, be nice." Ichigo said.

Hiro entered the room, taking everyone off guard. Everyone quickly forgot about Zero Two's weird behaviours and stared at Hiro, or more specifically the new features that adorned his face and head. Ichigo let out a gasp in shock as did the rest, the only person not in shock was Zero Two, who smiled deviously at Hiro. Hiro didn't stop though and moved to his spot at the table, all eyes were on him now.

Zorome was the first to get over his shock and walked up to Zero Two, trying to make a move, "You don't need that wuss over there, you can always ride with Zorome the great!" He exclaimed to Zero Two. Zero Two didn't even turn to face him. "Are you listening to me?" He demanded, only for Zero Two to start rubbing some honey from her hands onto Zorome's shirt. He started panicking and began to furiously clean his shirt.

Zero Two got up from her chair and made her way to where Hiro was now seated, the others were just eating their food, trying to pay no attention to either horned parasites. Zero Two threw her legs over Hiro's lap, and was now sitting on him. She leaned in close to him and began talking.

"Hi, we should be eating together." She said in a sweet, sultry voice that made Hiro very heated inside. "It makes things sweeter," She whispered to Hiro, pouring honey on all of Hiro's food.

Hiro then leaned in close to Zero Two, his breath hot on her neck, "It's been ages since I've been with you Zero Two." His voice full of yearning. Zero Two said nothing in response but only turned to him and pressed her horns against his. The sign of affection didn't make it past the other parasites though.

'What are you doing?" Asked Goro, who had seemed unnaturally quiet. "In fact Hiro, what happened to you? Where did you get horns? WHy are your eyes blue? Am I the only one who wants to know?" Goro questioned, gesturing to Hiro.

Hiro turned away from his beloved and faced Goro, Zero Two's face now in the crook of his neck, inhaling his scent. "Goro, I really don't know either, the doctor said it was some sort of side effect of riding with Zero Two." Hiro was partly telling the truth at least. Zero Two then ate some honey covered object and made a big show of sucking the honey off of her fingers. She leaned in close to his face and traced her finger up his face to his lips.

"Don't leave me again, dah-ling." She said, her finger on Hiro's lips, preventing him from talking.

"Darling?" Echoed everyone in the room in confusion. The room exploded as the parasites tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

Hiro used one of his fangs to lightly nip her finger to get it to move so he could talk, "Well then, I guess we'll have to be inseparable…" He said, making a move to lean closer to Zero Two, "We might have to stick together hon-ney." He said, laying the charm on thick and pulling her closer to him.

The room door suddenly opened and Nana walked in. "Okay! Attention! All right, effective immediately, I have been authorized to be your caretaker like I was in the garden. It's official, HQ assigned me to the 13th plantation corps. Thanks for your cooperation!" Nana said in an official voice. Ichigo chirped up with a question. "Yes Ichigo?" Inquired Nana.

"Will **she** be staying here with us?" Ichigo asked, pointing to Zero Two who was presently trying to force some honey covered food into Hiro's face.

Nana then explained "We're still awaiting orders as to what we're doing with them, but we do know that those two will not be with you, you need to be independent from other Franxx, because soon you'll be the only defenders of plantation 13. Come you know where your seat is." Scolded Nana, gesturing for Zero Two to return to the girl's table.

"Awww, but this one is so much more comfortable…" She groaned, getting up and off of Hiro.

"Hey wait, hold on, Zero Two! Meet me outside after lunch please, I need to speak to you." Hiro exclaimed, trying to get up and after Zero Two.

"That's presently not permitted, Papa and HQ will give you your new orders and decide your fate soon." Nana interjected.

"I don't like that girl."Miku said, stuffing her face with a banana.

Zero Two and Nana were now in an elevator leading into the city, Nana was scolding Zero Two. "You can't keep running off whenever you please." Nana said.

"I just wanted to see my darling." Zero Two said.

"Avoid contact with the parasites, they're nowhere near your level yet." Nana said, warning Zero Two.

The boys were now changing in the locker rooms, talking about Hiro's fight with the Klaxosaur. Futoshi was stuffing his face with food like always.

"What was it like?" Asked Goro, as he rummaged through his locker, looking for his various things.

"It was weird, when I was piloting I don't even remember doing anything, just the world fading black." Hiro said, remembering his original excuse.

"I see, either way I'm glad you stayed with us." Goro said, unzipping his uniform.

"Thank you." Hiro said, also undressing.

"Maybe you just perform better under pressure. You sure got me beat." Goro said, giving Hiro a friendly nudge. He was quickly elbowed out of the way by Zorome.

"Out of my way." He said as he pushed past the two other boys, heading for the dressing station. "I don't believe for a single millisecond that you managed to pilot a Franxx before the rest of us." Zorome said arrogantly. "A wuss like you! Come on!" He insulted.

"Why do they make these things so tight!" Yelled Miku as she forced on the under layers of her pistil suit in the girls locker room.

"Piloting is so strange, I hope we get used to it soon." Said Kokoro as she undid her undergarments to put on her underlayers for her pistil suit. "It's nothing like the training units." She continued.

Miku then jumped on Kokoro, tickling her and causing both girls to scream with laughter and joy.

Ichigo stood in the parasite suit machine as it sprayed the suit on, talking to Ikuno and the other girls. "Did it feel weird for you guys? Personally I felt more at ease, like I had become one with another person."

"What! it was totally different for me." Kokoro said with a sigh "I wish my numbers were as high as yours. I guess you and Goro must be really compatible." Kokoro finished.

"The elite double digits are made for eachother, I'm so glad for you." Sneered Miku as she walked into one of the suit machines.

"Gee thanks." Ichigo dead panned,

"Speaking of elite Hiro shows up with a girl out of nowhere and now she calls him darling." Miku said with a small giddy smile. " I don't really get it, but they might make a good coup-" She was cut off by Ichigo slamming her door shut, a weird emotion roiling in Ichigo's chest.

Hiro and Zero Two watched from the mission control room with Nana, as Hachi began talking. "I'll give you your strategic objectives, but in the field all decisions will be done by the lead Franxx Delphinium." Hachi explained. The rest of the group gave out a "roger." In confirmation. Hachi then continued talking, many tabs and reports opening up on his screen. "Now we will begin the drill. This will be your first run in a real Franxx, so long as you follow your partner you will be fine." Hachi finished. Several groans could be heard as the pilots connected.

"Quit making weird noises!" Yelled Zorome.

"It's a natural reaction!" Miku snapped back.

The face plates on all of the Franxx activated, and they slowly lumbered out of their respective garages, mechanical whirrings and hissings could be heard as all the intricate parts of the franxx moved in sync and harmony.

Zero Two and Hiro watched from inside the briefing room, Zero Two's head resting Hiro's lap. Hiro playing with Zero Two's hair and stroking her head. "Ddddddaaaaarrrrrllllling, I want to go out." Zero Two moaned.

"I know honey, I want to go out too." Hiro replied, continuing to stroke her hair and face as well as massaging her temples andt over all comforting Zero Two. Her long pink hair splayed over his knees and legs and her cute turquoise eyes stared up at him from her position in her lap. The two moved out of the room to go off and do who knows what together.

"Yes sir, he's developed unnatural growths after piloting Strelitzia, yes he could pilot it, no, he hasn't suffered." Reported Nana, now on an audio call with some official, Strelitzia would be in the fight soon.

Zero Two was walking through the Franxx docking bay sucking on a lollipop as she roamed the Plantation, only to be stopped by an infuriated Ichigo. "You! Zero Two! What is your relation to Hiro!" She called, stopping Zero Two in her tracks.

Zero Two did a one eighty turn to face Ichigo, and stared her down, eyes flashing menacingly. She remembered this memory fondly, this was the moment she proved Hiro was her's. "What's it to you?' Zero Two asked.

"I'm the leader of this squad, and you happen not to be. I don't want you getting Hiro's hopes up." Ichigo said as Zero Two approached her. Zero Two now had a small curious grin on her face as she approached, sniffing Ichigo, Zero Two leaned in a bit closer, violating Ichigo's personal space.

"Uhh hey," Goro said in slight protest, but his comments were blocked out.

Zero Two then suddenly licked Ichigo's cheek, and the girl reeled back in shock, holding her cheek in her hands and face morphed into one of horror and confusion. Zero Two then licked her lips and stood up to her full height. "You taste sweet, I like that." She said as she walked away, putting the lollipop back in her mouth. Goro put his hand on Ichigo's head to comfort her but it was quickly pushed off.

"Do you think we'll be able to fight like that one day?" Asked Futoshi as he bounced a ball between him and Zorome. "Against the Klaxosaurs, like Hiro did." Futoshi continued. He then passed the ball off to Zorome

"Huh? What he did out there is not what I would call piloting, you know that jerk can't pilot, he failed with Naomi!" Zorome said, before punting the ball back to Futoshi.

"He did fly it with him inside, that's got to mean at least something, even Nana and the Doctor have taken an interest in Hiro." Futoshi said.

Mitsuru who was standing to the side leaning against a pillar butted in, "Have you heard about that pistil? Zero Two? They say she can ride a Franxx all by herself, and she seems to kill all her partners, it's a miracle Hiro's alive. Hiro's no pilot, he was just along for the ride."

Zorome took this information and spat it right back out at futoshi, "What did I tell you!" He said, pointing a finger at the other boy. "There's no way that loser could pilot a Franxx before us." Zorome began bouncing the ball on his foot muttering "Don't think you're hot stuff," He said before kicking the ball straight at an approaching Hiro, Hiro though was ready, and jumped and slammed his foot into the ball, sending straight back into Zorome's face, sending the boy sprawling. Zorome was defeated this time but he would be back.

 **A/n I'm gonna cut it short here! Please leave a review or something to let me know how I can improve the story or leave a follow and like to show your support! This is being cut short because I like to push out one chapter a day no matter the size of the chapter, but expect a bigger chapter tomorrow!**


	4. Chapter 4! - Coming Clean!

Hiro lay in bed, the quiet breathing of Goro echoed to his left. His body lay in a cold sweat. He was really back! He had barely had accepted it, his mind had felt clogged, as if clouds had been pushed through his brain. When he first go back, he could remember very few things. His mind felt a sudden clarity, his hands reaching up to his head and touching the two blue protrusions that stuck out from his head. He needed Zero Two, he needed to see her, they needed to talk. He remembered everything, he needed to figure out what he and Zero Two's next move would be.

Hiro quietly made his way out of the room, careful not to wake a slumbering Goro. He made his way past all of the sleeping quarters, the noise of a sleeping Futoshi echoed loudly into the hallway. He skillfully made his way down the stairs, using catlike moves to make his steps silent. He slowly made his way out of the mansion, staring up at the night sky out of the glass dome that was their only view port of the sky.

"Hey." Said a quiet Zero Two, standing against a tree in the woods that surrounded the mansion the cadets called home. Hiro looked over in shock. How did she know he was there? Almost sensing his question Zero Two quickly answered "I can feel you, through our horns, they link us more than just visually darling." Hiro looked at her.

"Zero Two, what are we gonna do? We're back and I don't think the world is ready for us." Hiro said, he was anxious, his new foreknowledge felt more like a curse than a blessing. He was torn from his happy ending, but he could make a happier one.

Zero Two inhaled sharply, staring up at the stars that shone brightly over the plantation. "The world isn't ready for us, but there is one man who we might be able to trust." Zero Two said, Hiro was still confused though.

"Who could we trust?" Hiro questioned

"The doctor." Zero Two said, staring Hiro in the eyes.

The two made their way through the plantation, sneaking past guards and silently sliding past security gates thanks to Zero Two's S class pass. They knocked on the doctor's door, who had decided to stay on the plantation thanks to Hiro's… condition. The man answered the door, door sliding open with a hiss, revealing a grumbling and evidently tired Doctor, metallic implants glowing in the darkness.

"What do you wa- Zero Two? 016? It's the middle of the night! What are you doing here!" The Doctor exclaimed in shock.

"We need to talk." Zero Two said, her tone more serious than the doctor would've liked

* * *

"How… Virm? The Klaxosaurs?" The doctor questioned, the question obviously rhetorical. Zero Two had just finished explaining what would happen in the future, and the man was reeling in shock. "How do I know you're telling the truth?!" Demanded the doctor, Zero Two said nothing and simply grabbed his arm - the one that he always hid, she pulled back the coat and revealed the glowing klaxosaur DNA he had stored in his robotic arm. "So you're telling the truth." The Doctor murmured, an excruciating silence over took the room, the Doctor thinking long and hard about his next move.

"Doctor? Is it possible to receive a headband like the one Zero Two has? To repress the growth of my horns?" Hiro asked, breaking the silence. The doctor nodded his head, moving across his lab, past scattered microscopes, notes, and test tubes that fizzed and bubbled. The man brought back a headband to Hiro, the only difference was that it was black instead of white, lights aglow, Hiro put atop his head, and suddenly he felt it click into place and with it he felt the horns stop growing and the iciness in his eyes from intensifying.

"Now we match Darling!" Zero Two said, hugging her darling, she finally felt like she really was like him, she began touching horns with her beloved. Hiro felt something through his horns, it was like he could get snippets of Zero Two through the horns, her thoughts, what she was seeing. It was as if he **was** Zero Two. All of it seemed to be like peering through a small window, he could only see a small portion, but he could still feel his connection and bond to Zero Two widening and deepening.

"Look you two, you've given me this information, but what do you want me to do with it?" The doctor said quietly, knowing how the world almost ends tends to have that effect on people. Hiro turned away from his beloved to face the doctor, Zero Two's head still perched on his shoulder.

"Doctor, we need to know how we are going to proceed now that we know all of this, we just need advice, and considering your one of the last 'natural' humans left, we thought you might know." Hiro said with a sigh. They didn't know who they could trust, Virm could be everywhere.

The doctor took a deep breath, before finally speaking. "Here's what you two will do, you will report to me everyday so I can see if you're physiology is still changing, and I think we might need to go to the Klaxosaur princess with this." Zero Two and Hiro reeled.

"K-Klaxosaur princess? Why?" Hiro said.

"Well, you said the klaxosaurs eventually left the earth to the humans, if we could just convince her to stop fighting us now, we could prepare ourselves for when Virm finally strikes." The doctor summarized.

"So that's our plan," Hiro already knew this would be difficult for him and Zero Two. "How would we even get to the princess?"

"Me," The doctor said, his face and body looking more frail and tired than ever, as if the burden they had placed on him physically weighed him down. "I know how to get to her, it's crawling in Klaxosaurs though, and will be nearly impossible unless you two can fight your way through the literal home of the Klaxosaurs, this will be hard and dangerous, but if we get to her, we can probably convince her. You two should go home for now, get some rest, I need to rest my old frail body." The doctor finished.

"Okay doctor." Hiro said, turning towards the door and it slid open with a low hiss. He and Zero Two snuck their way back to the mansion and got some well deserved rest.

 **A/N I made this in response to all of the comments and pms that said that I was following the canon a little bit too closely so I made this thanks to some caffeine and sleep deprivation. Leave a review if you have any issues with something, and leave a follow and favorite if you want to support this story!**


	5. I'll be gone

**Hey guys, it's me JB, I know you all were expecting an update today, but I will be going on vacation for a week, but do not fear! I will be back and posting by next Sunday! I will be writing in that time, just not uploading it.**


	6. Chapter 6! - First Battle!

Hiro awoke to the familiar sound of the morning birds chirping in the distance, the plantation awake and active once more. The hum of the magmatic engines echoing in the distance. Hiro stood up from his bed, gently pushing the sheets off of his body, only to see a stone faced Goro staring at him. Goro stood up, shirtless and face contorted into one of confusion and anger.

"What happened to you Hiro?! Not just your appearance but _you!_ What happened to the boy who protected Ichigo in the kindergarten? What happened to the Hiro who always talked to his friends?" Goro demanded, red faced in anger.

Hiro quickly remembered the excuse he had come up with and responded "It's from riding with Zero-Two." He said.

"Like hell it is! Don't tell me that crap, we both know that your appearance may have changed but your personality has changed, that's something that that demon could never have done so fast!" Goro nearly screamed.

"Goro! Quiet yourself!" Hiro yelled in frustration, standing up from his bed, nearly butting heads with the other parasite.

Goro took several deep breaths and calmed down, "Until you tell me what happened to you, don't expect me to be of any type of friend to you." Goro said with finality.

Hiro left the room, leaving Goro to change. Hiro stood in the hall, 'What do I do?' Hiro thought to himself, what was his next move? Did they go to the princess? Do they fight APE?

Goro left the room, paying no mind to the Hiro leaning against the wall outside of the room. Hiro sighed in brief annoyance at his old friend's current behavior.

Hiro made his way down the hallway, making it to the stairwell to go downstairs. He saw the one and only Zero Two perched on the railing, waiting for him. Hiro moved to go towards her but she simply slid down the railing, laughing as he chased after her.

When Hiro and Zero Two made it to the kitchen, everyone was staring at them. They quietly sat down in their respective seats, the air was so thick with suspicion one could cut it with a knife. The other parasites quietly muttered and whispered amongst each other, totally ostracizing Hiro and Zero Two. The two klaxo-hybrids ignored the other parasites, quietly eating their meals in peace and silence.

—

It was time for the parasites first combat mission, the parasites slowly and quietly walked into the briefing room, sitting on the benches near their partners, with hiro and Zero Two sitting rather… close together.

"We've received sortie orders from HQ." Hachi announced, arms crossed.

"W-w-we're fighting already?" Stuttered out Futoshi, nervousness evident.

"Don't get so nervous." Comforted Nana. "You won't have to fight klaxosaurs from before right off the bat."

Miku breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness." she muttered.

Nana then continued with her briefing. "We would've liked to ease you in, but we can't afford to, unfortunately."

A large 3d lay out of a magma mine was displayed in front of the parasites. "You'll be facing a conrad class Klaxosaur." Hachi explained, gesturing to the mine. "It's a bit smaller than a FRANXX. Klaxosaurs are attracted by magma-energy reactions and appear in their vicinity. And lately, they've been showing up deep in a level 8 mine and wreaking havoc. Even the automatic bulwark systems can't keep it at bay."

Nana then cut in to provide crucial information that shocked the cadets, "We should mention that Strelitzia won't be on this mission, if you can't handle these small klaxosaurs, then you aren't ready to handle being the defenders of plantation thirteen." She looked over at Hiro and Zero Two, both simply looked away, huffing in annoyance.

'Jeez I'm even starting to be like Zero' Hiro thought to himself.

Nana continued despite the little display from the two resident Klaxo-Humans, "Ichigo and Goro will have command in the field,"

"Right." Goro and Ichigo nodded at the same time in affirmation.

Hachi finished by saying "That's it, all hands prepare for battle."

—

Ichigo and Goro stood in front of the now opened Delphinium mask, revealing the piloting seats inside. Ichigo turned to Goro as if to say something but then looked away, mildly blushing. "Hey, let's do our best, I'll pilot you handle alright?" She said, fist outsretched in the classic fistbump position.

"Sure thing, let's do our best out there." Goro said, returning the gesture with a mild bump.

—

Hiro and Zero Two watched the FRANXX power up from inside the briefing room, seeing all of the vital signs and other important information about the pilots showing up. The voice of Zorome could be heard through the intercom system.

"Finally! My first real battle!" He said cockily, Hiro could almost hear the smirk on his face.

"Try not to get so full of yourself and blow it like last time!" Miku said to him, referring to when they nearly fell during practice.

"Relax I've got this!" Zorome said, laughing with his smirk growing wider and cockiness growing.

"Well I'm not so sure you've got anything." Miku said, turning her attention towards interfacing with the FRANXX.

—

 **Hey guys it's me JB! Sorry for the really long update, I'll try not to forget about this story, however I got really caught up in work and fanfiction doesn't take precedence over my work. It also doesn't help that I got some serious writing block however by the time this update is up another one will probably be halfway made as I suddenly got a huge burst of creative writing juice! I'll never abandon this story don't worry and I'm so glad that 100+ of you guys enjoy this story so much, and don't forget to RnR!**


	7. GUESS WHO?

I am back ladies and gentlemen(and others) I've improved my writing, figured where I wanna go with the story and am ready to begin updating again!


	8. Chapter 6! New Resolve!

Hiro remembered how this battle had gone last time, the memory felt like a dream, so far ago yet, in reality, it had only been a couple of months before he had been thrown back in time. His head hurt trying to think about how that worked, time felt so wrong when one could just mess with it like that.

Hiro heard the familiar sounds of the Franxx powering up, and watched the synch ratios appear upon the briefing screen. Something wasn't right, somehow Chlorophytum was in synch, unlike before when it had failed to connect. 'Odd' Hiro thought, making a mental note of that before looking over at 02 who had a similar look on her face. 'Perhaps our intervention at certain events has already changed things up' He thought.

"Para-capacities are clear, all Franxx is a go," Said one of the operators. The screens whirring to life as information streamed past the eyes of Nana and Hachi. Nana breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of all the successfully connected Franxx. She commanded the brand new parasites forward to the drill site, with each of the parasites making a comment on the size of the hole, and it's depth.

Nana turned to Hiro and Zero-Two, "You two are still a no-go, due to… the unusual circumstances revolving around your Franxx and your pairing. While you two may be officially paired, I am not allowed to authorize the two of you into combat, but we do need you two on standby in case the mission goes awry."

Hiro gave Zero Two a look and they both grinned happily, soon they would get to be back in the thick of it fighting the Klaxosaurs.

Hachi then took command of the parasites, "Head down into level eight, as you're well aware by now in order to completely neutralize a Klaxosaur, you need to extract its core, which is essentially it's heart, and then shatter it with your customized magma energy weapons if the core is destroyed, so is the klaxosaur, got that?"

"Roger!" Echoed the voice of the parasites in confirmation.

"Proceeding to objective," Came Ichigo's voice through comms. "Both of you, fall in behind Delphinium," ordered Ichigo. "Got it," affirmed the voice of Kokoro.

"Miku?" Questioned Ichigo, waiting for a reply.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." She groaned out. Hiro smirked to himself, he used to wonder why she got paired with Zorome, but now it was confirmed in his mind why. They were both so sassy and weren't as uniform and standard as the other parasites. He chuckled internally, trying to imagine any other person who could possibly be paired with either of those two.

The Franxx made their way through the drill hole, pushing past complex mining machinery. The sounds of mechanical clanking eerily made their way to the ears of the parasites, psyching them out even further.

Eventually, the new pilots made their way to a room that appeared to be a large vat bay, filled with magma energy. A singular blue and black orb lay attached to one of the vats, trying in vain to suck the magma out of the tube. A small tail hung off it's back.

"Target sighted," Reported Ichigo, as Delphinium raised it's swords to attack. Quickly bolting forwards, the blue and white mech struck hard into the little ball, sword diving deep into the klaxosaur. With a yank, Delphinium pulled its sword out of the klaxosaur. The creature was launched upwards with the force and small spindly legs emerge from its body to commence battle.

The sounds of combat began to radiate from the comms, with everything going seemingly the same as Hiro remembered, although this time around Chlorophytum was there to provide covering fire for the rest of the Franxx. The engagement moved exactly as before, although the Franxx weren't beat up nearly as much, and their kill counts were ever so slightly higher. Ultimately, the Franxx fell just has they had before, with unstoppable tides of klaxosaurs rushing over the fallen Franxx.

Nana turned to Hiro and Zero-Two, her face icy and her stare hardened "Alright pilots, finish their failed mission."


End file.
